Dogwood Festival celebrates 25th anniversary

MEBANE — Drivers heading to downtown Mebane this weekend will notice a Ferris wheel set up as part of the 25th annual Dogwood Festival.

“We’re pretty excited about it,” said Cheryl Ray, president of the Mebane Business Association, which organizes the event each year. “It’s a first for us.”

Carnival rides will be available for the two-day event, beginning at 6 p.m. Friday night. Cost is $15 between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Friday for “all you can ride” and regular price from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

A golf tournament will take place at Quaker Creek Golf Course starting at noon Friday and the annual 5K run will be offered at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

The business association also is partnering with the Alamance County Arts Council to offer a Kids’ Zone complete with free games and crafts for children from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

The Mason Lovette Band will entertain festivalgoers from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and The Back Porch Orchestra will perform from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday. The Catalinas, members of the Beach Music Hall of Fame, will perform from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Too Much Sylvia will play from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Three different stages will be set up for performances and local acts will be offered from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday; see schedule for details.

A car show will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in the SunTrust parking lot, 204 W. Center St.

Arts and crafts vendors come from as far away as Virginia and Ohio to participate in the festival, said Donna Tilley, who has helped coordinate the vendors this year.

All of the festival organizers are volunteers and have been working on this festival for months and since it is the silver anniversary, they want it to be an event to remember.

“We’re definitely stepping it up several notches,” Tilley said.

Ray said hundreds of volunteers come together each year to make the festival a reality. Proceeds from the event go back into the community.

“We always give that money back to the community. Last year, we gave the Alamance-Burlington School System $6,000,” she said. “It’s not just a Mebane event. It’s all about one community coming together.”

Rain date is noon to 5 p.m. April 28. For more details, call (919) 304-3737 or visit www.mbamebane.com.